


Everybody Likes You!

by Anonymous



Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: If you found this: hi!, Ily :], M/M, No character tags on purpose!, Slow Burn, Strap in boys this is gonna (hopefully) be a long one, Title from a Lemon Demon song because I thought it was fitting, idiots to lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 23:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29783367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Fake dating au?  Fake dating au!After a sleep-deprived Tubbo accidentally basically-confirms that he and Ranboo are dating on stream (they're not) they settle on a very-clearly amazing and perfect plan that has absolutely no way to go wrong!  Mhm!
Relationships: Ranboo/Toby Smith | Tubbo
Comments: 18
Kudos: 357
Collections: Anonymous





	1. Sugar Pool - Mom

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy hey, Apollo here to deliver with some slowburn idiots to lovers because! we need more. These boys have been speedrunning their relationship publicly, I am here to give them a chill pill and also possibly 15k words of miscommunication and pain. Enjoy!  
> Also, each chapter will be named after the song I'm listening to as I publish it! They don't always relate, but I'll say something if they do!

As Ranboo watched the little indicator next to Tubbo’s name switch from purple, to a promising green, he let out a slight, subconscious hum of happiness. The two weren’t planning a stream later or anything like that, but even so, the fact that they could now call freely, discuss whatever they wanted without fear of chat clipping and writing down every last thing, was refreshing and pleasant enough in its own right. It would be late- early?- for Tubbo by the time Ranboo’s stream began, and though he didn’t really doubt that the other would still stay on for a fair chunk of it, he still wanted to try and help him fix his schedule if possible. Ranboo was ignoring the horrendous state of his own sleep schedule, pointedly Looking Away from the late nights spent talking to his best friend- were they best friends?- until two, three, four in the morning, even on nights when he had school to deal with the next day.

Really, though, it wasn’t _his_ fault that he stayed up so late, he reasoned- Tubbo lived across the ocean, and it was no different from staying up til ridiculously early talking with friends during sleepovers! That was a thing that people did fairly often, wasn’t it? Or at least, often enough that it could be shrugged aside, often enough that people wouldn’t question it overly much.. he hoped.

And even if they did notice, he could always blame it on the loneliness of quarantine, on the excitement of growing closer to a friend. And if his Spotify was slowly amassing more and more songs about longing and yearning, well- that was his to keep to himself, for the moment.

Reminded of its existence by his meandering train of thought, Ranboo tabbed into his browser- pulling up his normal playlist, humming along softly as he returned to his previous activity: switching mindlessly between Discord, hoping for a message, and staring at the half-written sheet of character beats he wanted to hit soon waiting for inspiration to strike.

And, as it turned out, that happened sooner rather than later- the familiar _‘ping!’_ of a discord notification popping into Ranboo’s ears after less than a minute, which he clicked on before even checking who it was from. Subconsciously, a smile tugged onto his lips as his DMs with Tubbo were opened, the new message taking a second to load.

**Tubbo:**

_Call?_

Laughing fondly, Ranboo clicked on the icon to do so in lieu of a proper reply, an affronted squawk falling from his lips as his call was declined.

**Tubbo:**

_ >:( _

_Phone!!_

Shaking his head, Ranboo checked that he looked alright before grabbing his phone, navigating to FaceTime after a moment of deliberation. Normally that was what Tubbo meant when he wanted to call over phone instead of discord, after all, with how ‘fucking terrible’ his webcam was- in the other’s words, of course. Ranboo thought it was fine, personally- he didn’t need to use one that often, and his facecam was so small in any streams that he _did_ use it in, it was practically unnoticeable, if the image was blurry.

The phone rang, once, twice- and then Tubbo picked up, Ranboo smiling as the familiar voice of his best friend filled his ears.

“You’re lucky that I love you, you know.” he reprimanded fondly, letting out a laugh and raising a hand to cover his mouth subconsciously as he did so.

“I am!” Tubbo chirped in agreement, snorting- and, even with cameras on, Ranboo found himself staring. Tubbo’s smug little smirk as he agreed, turning into a bright grin as he laughed- and then, a ridiculous pose, as he spoke once more. “Geez, Boo, I know I’m hot but you don’t have to stare!”

Quickly, Ranboo averted his gaze- though that just made it more obvious that he had, in fact, been staring, a fact which only made Tubbo laugh even harder. He couldn’t help it, though- something about the way the other smiled, laughed at nearly everything he said, the way his eyes were so soft every time they spoke.

“I- w-was not, you have no proof!” he defended weakly, laughing after a moment. “Even if I was, no one could- could blame me. You’re very hot, Tubbo.”

This was new, leaning into the flirting- on-stream it was much, much easier, but here, where it was just the two of them, the words caught in his throat and he forced his face to remain normal. It wasn’t even that new- but even so, the way Tubbo’s face flushed, as if he hadn’t expected the agreement, made it all worth it. Ranboo’s smile became easier, and he covered his mouth once more, letting out a snort.

“What, it’s true! You said it yourself, I’m allowed to agree!”

Like this, with Tubbo seeming to half-regret the hole he had dug for himself, it was easier to affirm. Easier to allow all the compliments within to be stuttered out, watch Tubbo struggle to accept them, and laugh it off later. It was- it was normal, too, he reasoned- friends complimented each other, and Ranboo knew that he wasn’t great with compliments either, so- so it was normal, he had decided, to enjoy it, to ignore the way his stomach twisted every time they joked about having divorced, to ignore the way a smile tugged fondly at his lips every time Tubbo flushed at a compliment.

“I- no, I’m saving myself for marriage, I’ve decided.” Tubbo protested, wheezing out a laugh after another moment of covering his eyes with an arm.

“So I can’t compliment you unless we’re married?” Ranboo snorted, the realization hitting after a minute. “Wait, no, haven’t- haven’t we been divorced like, twice? That means we have to have been married at least that many times, so- so I totally can!”

“Nope!” the protest was surprisingly quick, startling a laugh out of Ranboo. “No, no, we’ve just been divorced, never married- it was three times, too, Ranboo, ess-em-aich. I can’t believe you hate me that much, that you would forget our divorces.”

“Wh- hey, no! I just hate being divorced from you, I can’t stand it!” Ranboo retorted, pointedly ignoring the edge of truth that coated his words. “That’s why I forgot, hush!”

Tubbo didn’t seem to have noticed, he noted with a quiet sigh of relief, and then the topic had passed, they had moved on, discussing stream ideas and video ideas, what show or movie they would watch next- Ranboo was adamant that they watch the American version of _The Office_ , seeing as how Tubbo had never seen it, but the other seemed hesitant- and everything continued on as normal.

At least, until Ranboo was live, the call having been paused for a time as he started his stream and Tubbo went to get food. When a dono brought up their divorces, and Tubbo, who had joined an hour or so ago, laughed knowingly.

“You know, chat, Ranboo brought this up earlier, off-stream-” his stomach dropped. “-but we’ve never actually been married! Just divorced three times!”

Letting out a laugh that was half relief and half at the joke, Ranboo nodded his agreement, despite the fact that no one could see him.

“That’s right, actually- what do you think, chat, sub goal? Marriage sub goal?”

It was clearly a joke- Tubbo’s offended, overly-dramatic gasp confirmed that he knew, as he fought back a laugh of his own.

“Wh- hey!! Am I really that bad, that you have to be paid to marry me? This is why we’ve been divorced three times, chat, my streamer hates me!”

Ignoring the way his stomach fluttered at being called Tubbo’s streamer- he was absolutely NOT going to think about that again later- Ranboo sputtered for a moment, as he scrambled to reply. Any defense he could have come up with died in his throat, however, as Tubbo continued.

“He even- chat, listen to me, he even forgot how many times we’ve been divorced, can you believe it? My streamer hates me, sadge.”

This time, Ranboo couldn’t hold back the way he choked at Tubbo’s words- disguising it with a laugh, though he once more sputtered as all knowledge of the English language left his body.

“Wh- I do not hate you, Tubbo! C’mon, here, I’ll- gimme a minute, chat, gimme a minute.”

“You’ll what, big man?” Tubbo replied, smug and teasing.

In lieu of reply, Ranboo laughed awkwardly, and the conversation moved on- Tubbo talking about the show he was close to finishing, which Ranboo couldn’t for the life of him remember the name of. Chat did too, eventually, people giving their opinions on fictional characters, as Tubbo brought up his own favorites, and Ranboo allowed himself to bask in the other’s presence, occasionally humming along to his music or replying to Tubbo.

And then.

_And then._

“...Ranboo, if we were married, we would be better at it than these people. Tell chat that, they keep being weird!”

Ranboo choked, pulled violently into the present as he mentally re-rolled what they had been talking about just before.

“We- I mean, yeah, we would, probably.” he laughed, before considering. “Well-”

“Aw, no, Ranbooooo!” Tubbo whined, clearly suppressing a laugh. “Don’t tell me you’re disagreeing with me, c’mon!! We’re supposed to be a team, we can’t fight!”

“Wha- we’re not fighting, Tubbo!” he protested, giggling.

“Mhm, we’re clearly not.” came the reply, anger clearly being faked in Tubbo’s reply.

“Right, we’re- we’re not at all fighting, nope. We’re a team, no fighting here.” Ranboo suppressed another laugh, putting on his own fake-angry tone.

“Nope, absolutely none. No fighting at all. Y’know, Ranboo, if we keep-” Tubbo broke character for a second to giggle once more. “If we keep fighting like this, we’ll have to divorce again. Divorce number four...ce?”

At this, Ranboo laughed loudly- leaning back from his mic so that it wouldn’t peak and wheezing.

“I’ll say it again, if we’ve been divorced three- four times, now, four, then we have to have been married at least four times, too!”

There was a moment of silence, Ranboo briefly wondering if he had gone too far as chat filled with ‘Again?’ ‘Wdym bring it up again I-’ ‘AGAIN???’, before-

“...Yeah, fine.” Tubbo was laughing, now, as he continued on. “Who proposed to who, though? It- it does so matter, chat! It matters to me!”

“Lemme, uh- lemme see.” Ranboo scrambled for some way to decide, searching in his pockets, looking across his desk for anything he could use.

“Flip a coin!” chirped Tubbo, through his giggles.

“Right, right- let’s see, now..” his character paused as Ranboo took his hands off the keyboard, leaning back and searching around his room. A glint of metal caught his gaze, and Ranboo reached for it, grabbing the quarter and flipping it quickly. From this distance away from his mic, his voice was soft, and as he mumbled to himself he hoped that it wouldn’t pick up.

“Heads, tails…” he flipped it, moving closer to the mic and hoping his voice sounded normal as he said, “Me.”

“You flipped the coin?” Tubbo asked, seeming genuinely surprised but masking it well enough that- hopefully- people in chat wouldn’t be able to tell. Ranboo gave a hum of affirmation.

“..So you proposed to me?” he continued.

“Mhm, I did!” Ranboo tried to sound normal- god, he hoped he sounded normal.

There was a moment of hesitant silence, as he wondered if he’d gone too far, before-

“M’kay, good!”

Tubbo sounded impossibly pleased, softer than Ranboo had ever heard on-stream, and he couldn’t help but let out a fond laugh in reply, the other quickly joining in.

“‘Good!’” he repeated, letting out a fond sigh and quiet, “Oh my god.”

“Now I have all the power!” Tubbo crowed, both of their laughter only increasing. “And I will ask for bebe…”

They continued laughing, Ranboo somehow managing to keep his hands on the keyboard even as tears sprang to the corners of his eyes from how hard he was wheezing. He heard Tubbo banging on the top of his desk, knew that the other was doubled over, curling in on himself as he laughed, and the thought only made more fond chuckles fall from his lips.

“‘Adoption arc’, are we adopting a child Ranboo? In our fake marriage?” he tried to ignore how the reminder that it wasn’t real gnawed at him. “I’m excited, but for the record-”

“Is it a real child?” he asked, laughing.

“-but for the, for the record-” Tubbo continued, ignoring the question. “You proposed to me, I didn’t propose to you now, see, that’s- that’s in the lore now!”

“I- okay?” Ranboo’s laugh was uncertain, and he raised an eyebrow slightly, ignoring the way his face flushed at the statement. “That’s- what do you mean, is this canon?”

“This- wait, is this canon?” he could hear the realization dawn in Tubbo’s voice, and squished down the part of himself that hoped he would say yes. “Are we canon? I- chat is saying it’s canon, so I guess we’re canon!”

Ranboo remained silent, messing up his jumps on the nether roof’s trail more times than he’d like to admit as Tubbo mulled it over.

“Oh my god, I can be actually adulterous!” Tubbo laughed, startling a laugh out of Ranboo as he stopped running, putting his head in his hands.

“No, _no_ , no, you can-”

“I can be an adultress!”

“No, you cannot be- you _cannot_ be, Michael is our son- Michael is our adopted son!”

The realization caused him to laugh again, Tubbo sounding overjoyed as he replied.

“Wait- oh my god, is Michael our son?”

“Michael is our adopted son!” he snorted, doubling down and hoping his nerves didn’t show as he spoke.

“Oh my god we have a child- aww, you’ve just saved this marriage!” Tubbo’s laugh was fond, and Ranboo giggled, his own voice turning soft as he spoke.

“This marriage has been saved!”

“Aww, you came back for me?”

Ranboo tried to ignore how soft Tubbo sounded, laughing instead and allowing the bit to pass- occasionally responding to donos, to Tubbo’s questions about the marriage, but not really present, his head swimming slightly. Canonically married- he lets the thought stew as the stream continues, running somewhat on autopilot until-

“The wiki is saying we’re play…play-ton-ic? Ranboo, what does that mean, platonically married?”

“Wh- it’s like, uh, platonic means that we’re just friends, that there’s no romance behind it, Platonic husbands is- it’s a little bit impossible, huh?” he laughed, a flush riding high on his cheeks. “Married, but just as friends, it’s-”

“Aww, do I need to turn up the romance?” Tubbo asked, letting out a laugh. “‘Cause I will!”

It sounded like a threat, and Ranboo scrunched up his face, settling on laughing awkwardly as a reply. Once more, they moved past it- Tubbo clearly growing more and more tired, until eventually, Ranboo decided to call it.

“Alright, guys, that’s the stream for today I think- it’s getting kinda late, so I’m just gonna let you guys go, okay? Bye chat, bye!!”

His normal post-stream goodbyes rang out, Tubbo’s sleepy murmurs chiming in, and he pressed the ‘end stream’ button before sitting back in his chair, closing his eyes. He always crashed like this after streaming, always needed some time to sit by himself and relax, unwind and allow the streamer persona to fall away. Coming down from the stream always left his head aching, and he took a sip from his water bottle, hoping to stave off some of the strain on his voice. From the other end of the discord line, Tubbo’s show appeared to be playing- but quieter, closer to the mic, Ranboo could hear quiet, slow breathing. Not quite asleep, but close.

 _‘Good’_ , he thought idly, a slight smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. _‘I’m glad he’s getting some rest, after all that.’_

They rested there for several hours in companionable, comfortable, familiar silence- Ranboo couldn’t quite find it in himself to sleep, not properly at least, but he drifted in a half-awake state, scrolling through tiktok and tumblr and pointedly ignoring twitter. He wasn’t even sure why, really- they had clarified it was all in-character, and despite the way that his face had flushed at the prospect of marrying Tubbo, of being in a romantic relationship with him, even if only canonically, no one could have known that. Not for the first time, he found himself immensely glad that he wasn’t someone who streamed with a camera on, since someone would have definitely noticed, and that was Not something he wanted to explain, least of all because Tubbo himself would likely see it.

The night passed surprisingly quickly, and Ranboo found his eyelids growing heavier as it did- just before his awareness faded, he swore, he could hear a quiet, affectionate, “‘Night, Boo. Love you.” and then he was out like a light, his awareness already so fuzzy that he couldn’t tell if the voice was real or imagined.


	2. Lemon Boy - Cavetown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ranboo dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short (800-ish word) update because the full chapter was taking forever! Should (hopefully) be out within the next 2-3 days though :]

When his eyes opened, Ranboo found himself on a wooden pier, the scent of salt on the breeze and an aching empty space by his side where he knew, somehow, that someone was missing. Disconnected as he was, he didn’t question where he was, allowing the sound of the ocean to settle over him like a blanket, keeping him calm and complacent where he sat. Long legs hanging over the edge of the dock, the ends of the wooden planks dug in just-slightly- not enough to be genuinely uncomfortable, but enough that it tugged at his awareness. The scene was familiar- he didn’t know where he was, but knew he had been there before, somehow. Knew that he was safe, because something about the place felt like home.

He stared at the horizon, the edges of his vision hazy and unfocused as waves of gentle comfort flowed through him. Everything felt sluggish and slow, syrupy and dipped in gold in all the best of ways. The sounds of the ocean lapping at the shore, of birds cawing in the distance, of vague chatter from people being loud at a distance, surrounded him, lulling him into comfortable, safe, apathy. Behind him, the gentle taps of feet across the pier stole his attention away from his reverie, and he looked back with idle curiosity.

Standing there, a gentle smile on his face, bathed in the soft pink light of the sunrise, stood Tubbo- and Ranboo felt a familiar wave of love well within him, his own smile drawing to his lips, soft and fond as he patted the space next to him, though he knew, somehow, that it wouldn’t be necessary- that Tubbo would be there with him, beside him, regardless of whether he was invited or not. The soft safety that wrapped around him like a blanket only brought to his attention the gaping hole of emptiness at his side- and he patted again, with slightly more urgency, the ache strikingly familiar and unfamiliar all at once. Even if it was needless, it still helped him feel better, releasing some of that energy, that anxiety, that ran sluggishly through his veins.

And then, Tubbo sat- and the aching hole was gone, as the other leaned against his side, fitting perfectly against him. His head leaned against Ranboo’s shoulder, their hands slotting together familiarly in the space between their legs, knees bumping against each other gently. They didn’t speak, didn’t need to- Tubbo’s soft sighs of contentment filled the silence, and Ranboo felt too at-peace to even begin to consider breaking the quiet with words.

They sat, peaceful, surrounded in quiet save for the crashing of the waves against the shore- after just a minute, Tubbo leaned into his side more, and without thinking about it, Ranboo wrapped an arm around him, pulling him impossibly closer. Warm and familiar, his hand rested in Tubbo’s hair, running through it as if he’d done it a hundred times, and the quiet sighs of contentment that came from the other seemed to indicate that he had, that he knew just how to draw any stress out of him like no other could. That this was every bit as relaxing for Tubbo as it was for him.

“I love you, Boo..” Tubbo mumbled, speaking without breaking their peaceful silence, somehow, his voice more filled with love than Ranboo could’ve ever thought possible, directed at him. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Ranboo was surprised by the way his own reply instantly leapt to his lips, but he ignored it as he spoke, softer and fonder than he had ever known he could be. It wasn’t Tubbo, it wasn’t the gentle warmth surrounding them both, for the time being it didn’t matter, and so he pushed it to the side.

“I love you too, Bee.” he hummed, leaning over and planting a light kiss on the crown of Tubbo’s head. The edges of his awareness blurred and fuzzed, the contact not-quite registering, and yet that somehow felt- normal. He didn’t question it, didn’t want to move from this position, where everything in the world felt right. Didn’t want to throw away whatever being had given him this peace, this moment of pure  _ right _ . The moment, seeming to stretch into eternity- and, here and now, Ranboo knew that he would be alright with that.

Tubbo didn’t startle at the affection, instead tilting his face upwards, just slightly. His eyes were closed peacefully, as he lightly butted his head against Ranboo’s chin, tilting his chin up more. Letting out a fond, gentle chuckle, Ranboo leaned down, just slightly, knowing exactly what the other wanted through some experience he couldn't quite put a finger on. He let out a slight, fond huff of laughter, and exhaled through his nose, before leaning down and-


	3. The Moss - Cosmo Sheldrake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The days blur, and the nights burn. In their dance, Ranboo lets Tubbo lead, and tries to avoid how the flames lick at his heels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If u don't follow me on tumblr: you should! And also, you wouldn't have seen me post about this, but: here is another chonker of a chapter. Last one before they actually start fake-dating though, pog!  
> Yes this was all originally supposed to be part of ch2, yes ch2 has now been split into 3 parts. That's just how it goes tho when u write too much in sporadic bursts 

Ranboo blinked blearily, the sound of a notification ringing from his phone as he startled awake- a message from the mod group chat, it seemed, as he squinted and waited for the letters to swim into focus. He blamed it on one too many late night streams, one too many nights spent staring at his screen for hours on end because he didn’t want to leave the small circle of warmth that he always felt, talking late into the night with-

Tubbo. The scraps of his dream still floated around his mind, and Ranboo forced back the bright flush that wanted to paint his cheeks, shaking his head firmly. It had been a weird dream, that was  _ all _ \- it didn’t mean anything, he knew it didn’t, even though the space beside him still ached with the lack of a warmth that had never been there. He shook his head, attempting to clear out his thoughts, and squinted at his screen, trying to figure out why his mods were going feral this time. He’d deal with the dream later- would probably talk about it with Tubbo, if he wanted to avoid the teasing from his mods. And Tubbo would agree that it was weird, and they would move on, and it would be fine. He would probably tease him, too, but- well, it would be different, from him, as it always was for Absolutely No Reason, thank you very much, brain.

Checking discord, it seemed like Ranboo was still in a voice call- but, checking the channel with a squint, it seemed like he was alone. A laugh spilled past his lips, as he smiled slightly; Tubbo had probably forgotten to plug his phone in when he fell asleep, and it had died during the night, most likely. The other’s status as offline, rather than on do not disturb, all but confirmed it- and he made a mental note of the fact, for use with teasing the other at a later time.

Ignoring the mod chat, for now- the letters didn’t seem to be clearing, the messages harder to read than normal, he instead opened up twitter, on some whim that he didn’t quite remember the origin of. It was never a good idea- but it was part of his routine, and he didn’t spend  _ that _ much time on the platform, at least. He raised an eyebrow at the number of notifications that all seemed to spring up at once- normally the number was fairly high, sure, but never this high without reason- and wracked his brain for what could’ve happened to cause it. His mind jumped to the worst conclusions immediately- had someone leaked his face? His address? Something worse, somehow?- and he quickly tapped on the most recent one as he rolled out of bed.

“#TUBBO: “Aww, do I need to turn up the romance?” @Ranboosaysstuff @TubboLive EXPLAIN???”

Ah.

That.. right, that had happened last night. He hadn’t even remembered the bit, not well at least, too caught up in the late-night haze of tiredness and  longing and Tubbo to really commit it to memory too strongly. They had decided they were canonically married, too, and- he’d have to find a way to work that into his character, he supposed. Idly, he scrolled through the rest of his notifications- and, with a series of quiet sighs and a fair bit of massaging his temples in mild annoyance, confirmed that yes, they were all about that one line. He’d have to talk about all that with Tubbo, before his next lore stream, hopefully- and, looking over at the clock to gauge how much time he had to kill before class, Ranboo let out a soft, thoughtful hum. The other would likely be waking up soon, wouldn’t he? With how bad his sleep schedule was- a frown tugged at his lips at the thought, he should really try and help Tubbo with that- he essentially ran on ‘American time’, despite the long difference and distance between their countries.

After taking a moment to stretch, Ranboo stood, making his way over to his computer and idly drumming a beat beside it with his fingers as he waited for it to power up. Inputting his password by muscle memory, without looking at his keyboard, a slight smile pulled at his lips as discord opened to his DMs with Tubbo.

**Ranboo:**

_ Morning! :] _

He opened up Spotify as he waited for a reply, flicking on his headphones and tabbing over to his regular playlist by habit. Man, with everything from yesterday it would be a pain to deal with people’s theories if and when he made it public- but at the same time, the thought of driving his chat crazy with theories  _ was _ somewhat amusing. He’d have to see, he supposed- thoughts interrupted by a ping from discord. If anyone else had seen how quickly he had clicked on it, Ranboo would have been embarrassed- and even now, alone in his room, he still muttered a quiet, “Shut it, fbi agent who’s watching me through my webcam,” as he did. Whether or not someone was actually watching him, he didn’t know- but even so, it was better to cover his bases.

God, he was weird.

Ranboo ignored the way his face fell, seeing that the notification was just a ping from the mod chat- mentally scolding himself. These were his friends, he loved talking to them, he just- wished that Tubbo was awake so they could talk, too. There was nothing wrong with missing his friend a normal amount, right? Right!

...he decided not to mention it to his mods. Even if he knew their teasing would be harmless, he still didn’t feel like dealing with it, not now at least. Not without Tubbo’s voice in his ears, assuaging the longing he felt to be with the other.

Whatever that dream had meant, Ranboo couldn’t have been happier that it was over. Even if it had felt- nice, and soft, and  _ right _ , he didn’t want to think about what it meant for him. He was probably just lonely from the months of quarantine, he decided- it had been almost a year, and even if he wasn’t the most social person, he still had  _ some _ friends, who he was missing. It made sense that he missed Tubbo, too, and that the dream had been focused around him, then- they’d been talking right before he fell asleep, he was probably still just.. subconsciously thinking about him. That’s what dreams were, right? Some kind of product of the subconscious?

Yeah! That was it, that sounded about right- he’d had dreams about friends before, this was no different from in the past, if he factored in the quarantine loneliness and ignored the way that his side felt horribly cold without someone pressed against it perfectly.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts- had a half hour really passed?- he finally scrolled up, reading the context for why he’d been pinged. Something about the marriage again- of course it was, he thought, without the slightest trace of bitterness. His mods had seen he was online following the ping, though, and after it were dozens of messages- some joking speculation about why he was on but not replying, some gentle teasing, and he found himself laughing after just a moment as he replied that yes, the marriage was really canon, yes he was going to talk to Tubbo about it, and yes he would find a way to work it in.

The rest of the morning passed without a sound from his discord, the only sounds Ranboo heard coming from his Spotify and, occasionally, his phone. At some point, his parents came in to offer him food, which he gratefully accepted- he couldn’t just have candy for every meal, as much as he wanted to at times, his body drained and craving the energy after one-too-many late nights spent calling.

His work flew by quickly, menial tasks for classes that he didn’t really care about, in the grand scheme of things. He wasn’t currently planning to go to college, not right now- streaming was fairly profitable, luckily for him, because he enjoyed it. And, if it meant that he got to spend ridiculous amounts of time with  Tubbo friends, messing around and talking and laughing together, and call it work so his parents couldn’t tell him to stop? Well, that fact stayed locked within his mind, private and personal and soft.

Midway through some essay for one class or another, his discord pinged with another notification, and immediately all of Ranboo’s focus fell away, the argument he’d been trying to weave together from a half-dozen sources falling to tatters. He couldn’t find it in himself to be annoyed, though, greeted by Tubbo’s icon displaying a small green circle, their DMs with one unread message.

**Tubbo:**

_ Gmorng :)smiel _

A fond laugh spilled from his lips, and he shook his head slightly, the ringing of an incoming call filling his ears which he accepted without a second thought.

“‘Morningggg, big man..” came Tubbo’s sleep-filled voice, followed by a slight yawn. Still giggling, Ranboo raised an eyebrow, regardless of the fact that for once, Tubbo couldn’t see.

“Did you just wake up?” he asked, unable to stop himself and firmly ignoring the swell of affection at the thought that he was the first person the other was talking to, that calling him had been the first thing he’d done.

“Mhhhhhmmm, saw you were on an’ I didn’t feel like making breakfast alone..”

This time, Ranboo had to lean back, away from his mic as his cheeks warmed. No, he told himself- this was normal friend behavior, it was the same as if they’d- as if they’d slept over, or something like that, yeah! It was just regular best-friend behavior, wanting to spend time with the other as opposed to alone, even if it felt painfully domestic and soft in a way that only worsened the empty ache at his side.

“...you there? Did I kill you with my- mh, with my fucking..” Tubbo cut himself off with a yawn, breaking into quiet, almost unsure laughter, and he scrambled to reply.

“No, no, I’m okay- you just reminded me of a, uh, a weird, I guess? A weird dream I had.”

Shit. That wasn’t what he had meant to say- he hadn’t even been sure he  _ was _ going to tell Tubbo about the dream, but- well, apparently that decision was now out of his hands. That was okay, though, because he would tell Tubbo and they would laugh about it and that weird emptiness would go away.

“You dreamed about me? Aww, ‘Boo, I’m flattered!” he sounded more awake now, but it could have just been the time that had passed since they’d started the call, Ranboo reasoned. It wasn’t anything about him, of course it wasn’t.

“I never said that!! But- well, yeah, I did, actually. It was-” he cut himself off with an awkward giggle, rubbing at the back of his neck. “Uh, I was just- sitting on a pier, I think, over some water. And then you just- came up, and sat next to me. Didn’t really talk, uh, we mostly just- just sat there? Kinda? It doesn’t make sense saying it out loud, but- well, y’know, dreams are kinda like that, so-”

He continued rambling, trying to fill the silence, mentally praying for Tubbo to reply, to say  _ something _ so he didn’t feel so strange, so like he had just admitted something forbidden. It was fine for friends to dream about each other, and he was lonely, quarantine  _ had  _ been going on for a while, after all, but-

“...no, it’s okay. That makes sense, I think..”

Tubbo’s reply was quiet, but he still cut himself off mid-sentence, giving a soft sigh of relief that the other didn’t sound too weirded out.

“We really could, you know. When you come here, and we meet up- I’m near the ocean, there’s a pier close to my house, I think. I’ve never really been there, just a few times with friends, but..”

Ranboo found himself blushing, Tubbo’s words fading out after the first sentence. They really could- no, that was obviously NOT what he had meant, brain, get out of the gutter please. They weren’t going to kiss, because they were just friends, even if they were pretty close ones. He probably just wanted to take Ranboo to the pier to flex how close he was to the ocean, knowing that Ranboo had never really been.

After a moment, Ranboo realized his headphones had fallen silent- he checked the light, and no, they still seemed to be on, so-

“..Tubbo? You good?”

“Yeah, big man, I’m good. Everything okay with you, though? You kinda zoned out there for like-” there was the sound of movement, Tubbo shifting around in his bed and his voice growing further away- he was probably adjusting where his phone was, if Ranboo had to guess. “..damn, like three minutes?”

“Oh- wait, really?” he frowned slightly. It hadn’t felt like he was lost in his thoughts for that long, but if Tubbo said so, then it was probably true. “I’m sorry, I was just thinking- but, uh, I’d love to go there with you. As long as you don’t make fun of me for staring.”

He tacked on the last part with a slight laugh, hoping to shift the mood slightly, clear his thoughts, and distract himself from the too-weird dream from last night- but it seemed the universe, or more specifically, Tubbo, had other plans.

“Aww, you’d stare at me when we meet up?” he quipped, laughing. “I’m flattered, ‘Boo, really- I’m not that pretty, you don’t have to!”

With a good-natured groan, Ranboo let his head fall, gently smacking his desk- loud enough that his mic picked it up, apparently, as Tubbo dissolved into even more giggles. His face was flushed, but hearing his friend talking badly about his appearance  _ again _ rubbed him the wrong way, and so he persisted.

“You’re very pretty, Bee, so y’know what? Yes, now I will!”

He didn’t sound genuinely annoyed, he didn’t think- but even so, Tubbo fell silent, and Ranboo raised an eyebrow. Had he crossed some boundary?

“...Bee? Everything okay?”

“Uh- y-yeah, big man, I’m good. Don’t worry about it”

Ranboo let out a quiet, relieved laugh.

“Aww, are you embarrassed?” he asked, slipping into a familiar, gently-teasing tone. “Don’t worry, Tubbo, I won’t tell anyone how pretty you are- gotta preserve your privacy!!”

There was an- offended? flustered?- overdramatic squawk, and then the familiar tone of the call being ended, and Ranboo began laughing outright, remaining in the call alone. He could fluster Tubbo, apparently, that was good to know- why, he couldn’t put his finger on, but the warmth in his chest and grin on his face were enough for him to not question it for now, to stop himself from overthinking it.

It was another minute before Tubbo re-joined the call, making his soft little pouty sounds which made Ranboo laugh. Their call continued- Tubbo wasn’t streaming that day, having woken up too late to get much of a stream in, but he was definitely going to join Ranboo’s later, he said- and so their day went, schoolwork forgotten and lore document left open and half-written. Ranboo couldn’t find it in himself to mind.

Later on, the stream went off without a hitch- they were building a hotel now, to compete with Tommy’s, planning and collecting materials for it together as the viewers cheered them on, as Twitter offered them different options for logos, and they talked later and later into the night.

That night passed much the same as the last- stream ended, they fell asleep together in call once again, and Ranboo dreamed of the pier, of soft lighting and softer hearts, softer voices. He woke up, brushed it off, ignored the steadily-growing ache and kept writing, kept working on his assignments, anything to avoid thinking about things too seriously, anything to keep from examining what exactly it was that made his heart beat so quickly, his cheeks flush so easily, his head feel light and heavy at the same time.

He couldn’t keep running forever, though- and so, in the meantime, he allowed himself to fall deeper and deeper, streams with Tubbo growing shorter as the other pushed him to end at better times so they could spend time together- his fond half-protests of, “But we already call all day!” met with, “That’s not really  _ you _ , though, you’re always on-stream with me” and who was he to deny the boy who kept appearing in his dreams, night after night?

And so their dance continued, stream after stream- they were a duo, according to Jack Manifold, where one went, the other was quick to follow behind, whether it was on their streams or other peoples’. Tubbo cheered for his appearance in a mediashare on Jack’s stream, Ranboo jumped into vc to defend him against weird donos on Tubbo’s, Tubbo serenaded him on Hbomb’s and twitter exploded, and Ranboo looped the song after the stream ended even though Tubbo was only gone for a few hours because he was taking a nap, and they didn’t talk about what they were doing, leaving their fans a split, confused mess. It was only fitting, for how Ranboo himself felt, half-torn between not knowing himself, and half-wanting to let Tubbo take the reins and do whatever the other asked. It was only fair.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a tumblr too! Follow me @loveletter-anon :]


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